Promise
by mysticflare
Summary: "I'm sorry, I broke our promise. I love you." was all it took to send Freddie running, running out into the rain, running towards his best friend. Rated T for self-harm.


**Still on writer's block, so decided to do a little angsty one-shot. (:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own iCarly.**

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><p>"What the hell, Sam?" Freddie shouted at his best friend, voice rising above the thunder outside. "Why did you even do that? You could've been seriously hurt!"<p>

"It was just a little fun, Freddork." Sam rolled her eyes, munching on an apple she had stolen earlier. "Hey, did you see that beef jerky? I swear I saw it some-"

"Look at you!" Freddie clenched his fists in anger. "You could've gotten seriously injured, and you don't care!"

"Well, why do you care?" Sam's voice rose in sudden anger, her eyes shooting daggers at Freddie. "Why do you care, huh? Why don't you just walk away and live your own life, like you always have? Why start to care now?" Lightning flashed, illuminating blue eyes.

Freddie stood in shock at Sam's comeback. Why shouldn't he care? He was her best friend, after all.

"Sam, I-" he started, reaching out for her hand. She flinched away, glaring at him through her piercing blue eyes.

"Go away." her voice suddenly became shaky and she backed out of the apartment slowly, tears starting to build up in her eyes. "Go away! Don't come near me. Just leave, you idiot!"

'Sam, pl-" he started again, chasing after her as she locked herself in her room, shouting at Freddie to leave her alone.

"Fine!" he yelled, much louder than he had wanted to. "Fine, I'll leave! If that'll make you happy, then I'll leave, okay?"

He turned on his heels and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

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><p>"<em>For Fredward Benson<em>," was the title of the email he received from Sam later that evening. He opened it with a sigh, expecting it to be another chain email or rigged email, designed to shut down his laptop once he opened it. The email, in fact, contained just two sentences, but those two sentences sent Freddie running, running out of his house and into the rain, running towards his best friend.

_"I'm sorry, I broke our promise. I love you."_

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><p>"Sam? Why's there red ink on your jacket?" Freddie asked, pinching at Sam's gray jacket.<p>

"Huh? Uh, no. Nothing." Sam said hurriedly, snatching her arm toward herself. "It's nothing. I swear."

"Sam, let me see your arm." Freddie said, reaching for it.

"No! Don't touch me!" Sam shouted, pushing him away. "Go away!"

"Sam, pl-" he let his heart drop as he ripped off her sleeve - he would pay her back later - and saw three jagged lines across Sam's beautiful arm, blood flowing freely from it.

"S-Sam, why did y-" he only got that far into the sentence before Sam collapsed, sobbing desperately into her hands as Freddie strode across the room and held her, smoothing out her hair as he did so.

"Sam, Sam, please. Please promise me something." Freddie said once Sam was done crying. She nodded and freed herself from his arms, sniffling as she made her way to the couch.

"W-What do you want, Freddork?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

"Promise me you'll never do that ever again. Please. Please promise me." he said seriously, reaching up to touch her arm.

"O-Okay." she whispered.

"Okay? I really want you to promise me, Sam. You're my best friend and I really care about you. I don't want to l-lose you. Not like this. Please, Sam-"

"Okay. I promise." she whispered, grabbing at her torn jacket. "You owe me a jacket, by the way."

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><p>"Sam!" he shouted, not caring that he was drenched from running six miles in the rain. "Sam!" he ran towards Sam's bedroom door and knocked it down, finding Sam crouched on the ground, staring dazed at the seven diagonal cuts on her arms.<p>

"Sam, Sam, p-please." he sobbed, cradling her in his arms. "Sam, why? Why?"

"Because I don't want to hurt anymore." Sam said simply, sounding so much like a broken little girl that Freddie had to choke back another sob. "This is the only way I can't feel anything. Don't you understand, Freddie? It all hurts too much. It hurts so much..." she laughed maniacally, admiring her own cuts.

"W-Why does it hurt? Please tell me, Sam. I want to help." Freddie whispered. He grabbed a few towels Sam hadn't bothered to put back into the cupboards and pressed them against the wounds, prompting a hiss from Sam. "I want to help. Please."

"Well, first off..." she drawled, leaning against Freddie's chest, "I like you. Not like I liked that bacon guy, whatever his name was. I like_ like_ you. And it hurts, 'cos I know you'll never like me the way you like Carly."

Freddie shook his head, remembering that he had never loved Carly. Not really, anyway. He was too afraid of being rejected by Sam, that was all. Was it?

"Next, it's 'cos I know if you and Carly get together, you wouldn't be happy. Carly's not right for you. She just... She hurt you so much... Why would you want to be with her? You'd only get hurt..." Sam giggled at the thought. "You'd only get hurt... I don't want you... to get hurt..." she whispered the last few words and fell against Freddie, nearly toppling him over. Her eyelids closed and her breathing evened out, and a small smile graced her lips as Freddie cried, his tears falling on her golden locks.

"You're right, Sam." he whispered into her hair, rocking her back and forth. "You're right. I could only ever be happy with you." he placed a kiss onto her forehead and carried her bridal-style to her bed, smiling softly at how beautiful she looked. He walked out of the room and into the empty apartment, searching high and low for the first aid kit. He eventually found it tucked in one corner of the storage room and brought it back to Sam's room, applying iodine and bandages to her cuts as he kissed them one by one.

He looked at the clock. '22:59', it read. He decided to stay in the Puckett apartment as he didn't want to leave Sam alone. Gently climbing into the bed, he wrapped his arms fiercely around Sam, protecting her from all the demons that she had to face.

"Never again." he whispered, feeling his mind drift off. "Never again, Sam. You're never going to face them alone again."

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><p><strong>Okay, so, how was that? Had it in my mind for awhile now, so I decided to get it off my chest. (: Reviews are awesome as always! :D<strong>

**xxmysticflare  
><strong>


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